Kevin Smith and Jason Mewes return to Detroit for 2018 Freep Film Festival launch party

Actors Kevin Smith, left, and Jason Mewes, right, recorded their comedy podcast â€œJay and Silent Bob Get Oldâ€ during the 2017 Freep Film Festival pre-party at the Fillmore Detroit Wednesday, March 29, 2017.(Photo: John Froelich, Special to the Free Press)

The dynamic duo of director-actor-writer Kevin Smith and his cinematic sidekick Jason Mewes will return to the Fillmore Detroit on April 10 for a launch party for the fifth annual Freep Film Festival.

Since storming Hollywood in 1994 with certified cult classic “Clerks,” Smith has continually catered to his dedicated fan base with films like “Dogma,” “Mallrats” and “Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back” as well as venturing into out-of-the-box movies like “Tusk” and “Red State.”

Smith is also a regular directing episodes of TV shows (“Supergirl,” “The Flash”) and hasn’t shied away from expanding his empire to podcasts (like Smith and Mewes’ “Get Old” podcast) and TV shows like “Comic Book Men.”

Now in its 5th year, Freep Film Festival is expanding this year to five days: April 11-15 – plus the Smith preparty on April 10.

Produced by the Detroit Free Press, the festival focuses on documentary films, with many of them featuring stories connected to Detroit or Michigan.

The festival will again be focused in greater downtown Detroit, hosting events at key venue partners including the Fillmore, the Detroit Film Theatre at the Detroit Institute of Arts, Cinema Detroit and Emagine Entertainment. More venues will be announced this month.

More festival special events, including the opening night film, will be revealed in the coming weeks. The full festival lineup will be unveiled in early March.

The 2017 Freep Film Festival kicked off with a “Jay and Silent Bob Get Old" pre-party at the Fillmore Detroit on Wednesday, March 29, 2017.(Photo: John Froelich, Special to the Free Press)